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User blog:Renaboss
Hi, this is Renaboss (forget the Renababes), the #1 fan of Devious Butlers, and the only one smart enough to bide his time and binge-read the show when it was available in its entirety. Ha, no though. Anyway, this is my personal ranking of the main characters of this great show, from worst to best, complete with character reviews. My views are mostly subjective, of course, but I tried my very best to be objectively honest. Try not to be a bitch about the results, or the show is cancelled. #16. Elijah Davis Oh, blow me, little boy brown. Why were you a series regular? Right, because real Eli portrays you, and apparently he's a big, respected member of the community and a contemporary mainie, even though I really don't see it, but who am I to judge? Eli as a character was never much of anything, I was honestly surprised to learn he'd made it to seven episodes in season 1, I figured it'd been like three at most. Even in season 2, although I really enjoyed Rena and Liz playing a cat-and-mouse game with Eli, it wasn't because of Eli, and everything he said was either annoying or I was just indifferent to him. We all know someone has to take the bottom rank, and Eli is inarguably that character for all of us. Heck, we may even exaggerate it. He wasn't that bad. And actually ended up being of some relevance. Maybe we just decided we wouldn't care about Eli (the writers included) and he automaticaly became the boring one. Or maybe he is the worst character. Who knows? #15. Jorgio Del Barrio Gee, this man. We get it, you're evil. You're a misogynistic asshole who gets off on abusing women in all ways possible, verbally, physically and sexually. My God, what the hell kind of damage was inflicted upon this man? Now that I think about it, he could have probably benefitted from some backstory that fleshed him out more. But that would probably just lead to him being abused in some way by parental figures, which is really all OUaT ever does when it explains why their villains are bad: they're bad because their parents were bad, because evil isn't born, it's made. Then who the fuck made the parents bad?? Their own parents? Fuck you, Adam and Eddy, is my point. But anyway, yeah, Jorgio was quite a shallow character, just mean for the sake of being mean, but ultimately not all that threatening. He wasn't that strong or menacing, heck, he wouldn't kidnap Liz out of fear of a black guy beating him up. However, he was pivotal to several of the main plot points of the series, with his house clearly serving as the most memorable setting. Lol that he's Joe's dad. That felt added on but also didn't hurt anyone any so meh. Why was he the only one whose real name you never used? Real Ben kept calling him "Joey" anyway, might as well. #14. Matthew Winters I'm not sure if I even remember who MattyKardashian is. It almost rings a bell, but it still surprises me that they got to be a main character. Then again, it's the one with the lowest episode count, who died six eps in, so muh. Matthew was a joy to watch before his big villainous turn, I think we all enjoyed the arc of him trying to convert Josh only to have everything backfire on him. The reveal that he was gay all along was expected but cute, and it made me ship him with Josh, which clearly denotes that I have an issue with rooting for rapists and their victims, since I wanted Ben and Val OTP as well. Of course, in Matthew's case, that was before the actual rape. I was shocked by it, and also shocked by Jo's murder of him, but they made for defining moments of the series, and you managed to make Matthew more than just a faux regular, weaving him into many stories, like Jorgio's business and Justine's motives. All in all, a good, interesting original villain, who made for more than a handful of good jokes post-mortem. #13. Maria Solano I find it interesting that I was the only one who liked Mary before her grand reveal. I can understand why the others wouldn't, really, Mary mostly just existed, without providing much to the ongoing stories, which I guess is what made everyone suspect she'd end up serving a greater purpose as the eventual Big Bad of the series. I went into season three expecting Mary to be a mystery star, and then she wasn't, so I settled for the idea that she was just meant to be Rena's endgame, which was more than fine for me. Lol I bet you worried like hell all the while, wondering if we were gonna figure out your big twist. You probably thought "Is Solano a big giveaway? Should we use that name?" Lol, silly you. At least when it comes to me you should know better than to be concerned, I never guess anything, and that's the best thing ever. Loved the fact that she was Nadia. You salvaged that character too. I don't know why I was so biased against her, but I just couldn't be arsed with Nadia, sue me. Anyway, yeah, Mary was cute as a romantic interest, she was fun as a writer/producer/director, and she was badass as a villain, her ultimate end goal was pretty cool and I'd watch her movie anytime. I'm glad you used her to somewhat express your anti-religious/atheistic views but still acknowledged that she and her followers weren't right either, the very thing that's ever wrong with either religious nuts or radical nuts is the extremity of their actions. Live and let live, people. #12. Alison Del Barrio Oh Ali, Ali. Le sigh. I do wish I could rank you higher up than this - and keep in mind that, as I write this, I haven't even officially ranked them yet. But I know she won't fare that well, unless some seasonal peeps get pushed down. As I have commented on my 2.12 review, Ali's characterization has always seemed a bit all over the place. In one scene she was a meek pushover, in the next one she was standing up to someone. In this episode she's very sweet and nurturing, in the subsequent one she's being a bitch and pushing people away. And unlike with Jo (more on that later), all of her contrasting personality traits don't make for a complex character, just a poorly written one. She did get a lot better in season 3, but prior to that, she was just very hard to root for. I guess one could feel bad for her in season 1, but then season 2 came and pretty much ruined her. And her relationship with Ben always felt unnatural to me, as you all know. I just could never grasp at their chemistry; I know you were going for a Zoila/Genevieve vibe, but you really missed the mark there. Still, she managed to end the series on a good note, and as for her relationship with Liz, while I never had any strong feelings about it, it was still mostly pleasant. #11. Valentina Cortez So how do I judge Valentina? She was a complete abortion of a character in season 2. Then she was absolute brilliance in season 3. Did a complete 180 whilst staying in-character. So basically half of her story is crap, and the other half is bae. But the bae half came after the crap half, so at least she improved. I suppose in season 2 you were still feeling the territory with her, trying to keep her shady and her motives mysterious, even though her goals were ultimately a bit shallow. Val was a character who never listened to reason much, and in the end she turned out as psychotic as the sister she was trying to avenge, but we all had a good time with her and her crazy-ass schemes, that really damaged her as much as they did Ben, which just goes to show how self-degrading revenge can be, a lesson we could all stand to learn. Boy that was a long sentence. Her interactions were always amusing, the ending to her story is just fitting, and even though I'm a bit remiss she and Ben weren't OTP, I get why you wouldn't allow that, you little social justice warriors. #10. Benjamin Gold Oh, Benny, Benny. What to do, what to do... This is undoubtedly the hardest character to rank. He's a core character, and obviously so important, despite all the "irrelevant" jokes at his expense, but unfortunately - and understandably so - the only one of the core five not to be included in, well, the top five. I like Ben. Now, anyway, looking back. But I think it took me till maybe season 3 to actually care, which is far too long and too much for a leading character. Ben was mostly dull for the duration of the series, and, sadly enough, he surrounded himself with the worst group of supporters any butler had: Jennifer was unhinged in strange, off-putting ways; Ali was, as I've discussed, usually hard to root for, and their relationship felt forced; Val was a straight-up mess in season 2; and Jorgio was Jorgio. Poor Ben. He feels like the Michelle Williams of the show. The butt of the joke. Sure, Rena was always the one everyone made fun of in-show, but in real life, Ben's the butt. I don't know whether to rank some funnier, more interesting characters above him for just that, or below him because he's more important overall. It's hard. I like Ben, and he certainly came around towards the end. Everything about his ending works for me. It's just that everything leading up to it was touch-and-go. #09. Rochelle Little Rochelle is just great. I loved what the Littles brought the show, they were a far better, far funnier version of the Millers, who were great to begin with. Rochelle was loud, classless and horrible, and her story was probably the most intriguing bit of season 2 for me, especially seeing how it took so long to actually progress. I know you only intended for it to be a side mystery, and I guess it ended up a bit more disappointing overall because people were probably more interested in it than the actual main mystery, so the payoff was less than expected. As you know, I don't mind it, and you managed to weave Rochelle into the main mystery's resolution seamlessly and in a way that was honestly quite the shocker. As for her inclusion in season 3's mystery, lol? I was surprised that you'd kill off a character who, in my opinion, was unkillable comic relief, but oh well, another way you defied expectations. She lived on through her daughter Aliza, who occasionally provided hilarious moments much like her mama did. Who on earth is Dlrgirl75 though? #08. Bradley Sonya He's my Michael Cordero. The word to underline is "my". Back off, thirsty heffers. How you managed to make a romantic interest so perfect and dreamy without making him cheesy or tiring is cause for applause. I'd applaud myself but I'm jacking off to Brad-led fantasy sequences. He is so handsome, so smart, so cute, so mine. A curse on Josh for taking his sweet long-ass time realizing this guy was a keeper. Fucking Juan... Their relationship was always adorable, from start to finish, and boy did that finish come much too fast... I was always pleasantly surprised by how quickly Brad would take Josh back after their separations. I figure it came from real Joe's constant lack of patience for characters breaking up in TV shows and dragging that out when everyone knows they're endgame. And to me it's like, Brad could be perceived of as a doormat, constantly taking in someone who just stomps all over his heart again and again, but I see it as him knowing that he and Josh are it and understanding that his boyfriend's own personal issues are what keeps him from seeing the same thing, so he'd let Josh take his time until they finally got to be on the same page. Then he went to heaven, my little angel. Then he appeared in like ten episodes of season 3 but whatcha gonna do. Brad is love. #07. Elizabeth Davis I am almost scared of reviewing this character, lest I incur Jo's wrath any further. And I don't even dislike Liz. For most of season 1, I didn't particularly care, which I suppose is understandable, given how much of Rena's story that season was focused on Justine rather than Liz. When Rena's rape took place in 1.07, I was honestly shocked, it felt like too much in too little time, like Liz's character was ruined beyond repair/redemption, but then you threw in that twist of Rena enjoying it, which led to perhaps one of the best, albeit most head-scratching relationships of the series. For the longest time, I wondered to what extent they were involved: did they have feelings for one another? Was there actually sexual intercourse? It turns out, I think, that the sex was kept to a minimum, and that neither had any feelings for the other, Rena just got off on the pain and Liz on inflicting said pain. Liz was bored with her vanilla marriage (lol he black) and actually thought Rena might be gay (a running gag that got a bit old but oh well). Liz managed to redeem herself some after being thrown out of the house by Eli, without losing her bitchitude. I liked the gag with her not eating and literally gagging, and, as stated, her relationship with Ali was cute. As I write this, I don't know where Liz will rank, but I do know I like the character. Probably somewhere in the middle section. #06. Justine Dussault I can understand your frustration in seeing that it took me so long to like Justine. For, like, the entire first half of season 1 I kinda couldn't stand her. But when I started to, I was hooked, and she of course turned out to be one of the show's best creations. I was definitely fooled by her faux-core status, not at all expecting her to be the killer or to actually be killed off at the end of season 1, but, even though it's nice how she managed to stay relevant post-death by both Val's and Juanita's stories, I do think she appared far too much after she died, especially in season 3, but meh. Wouldn't want her to be too far down in the main portal either, I suppose. Justine was funny, bitchy, surprisingly psychotic, and although I wasn't particularly sold on her being in love with Matthew, it provided some funny moments. However, I sure as hell am not gonna rank her first like Josh and Ben apparently did. #05. Silvia Montgomery I. Adore. Silvia. Seriously, talk about another character that pulled a 180 in season 3 after being touch-and-go in season 2. Psycho, hellbent Silvia threw me off a bit, she was far too shady to be likable and did far too little to be all that interesting, and don't get me started on that awful appearance count. But then, in season 3, you decided to bring her back as a doting mother figure, pretty much brushing off all her psychotic traits and backstory as though it was all just a huge joke, and God damn it it worked. Silvia was just so much fun in season 3. I loved, loved, loved her relationship with Joe, her inclusion in his family and social circle, her being a boss to Rena, and even though the running gag with the iced tea was severely overdone, it provided several amusing moments like the allergic nurse (apparently one can be allergic to iced tea? Huh. Thanks, Google, I guess). Whenever she bonded with Joe it was just bae. I legit can't complain about a single thing regarding Silvia, it amuses me that she of all people ended up in the surviving half of the show, with all the core mainies, and the resolution to her mystery at the end of season 2 was pretty good. Thank God you made her main instead of Kathryn really. But you could have made Kathryn main instead of Eli, so there's that. #04. Joshua Gibbons Just like you guys couldn't wait for me to be done with the series, I also couldn't wait to be done with it just so that I could rank its mainies, something I've been wanting to do since mid-season 2, before I even knew who all they were. What this entails is that, for the longest time, I actually thought I'd rank Josh first. He was clearly the most interesting out of the four core butlers, the one with the most appealing personality, the best group of supporters and, at the time, the best romance. However, unlike everyone else, I wasn't head over heels in love with his crazy arc in season 3. I appreciate it for the complexity, I just couldn't be arsed with it at times. We'll always have season 2, I suppose. I really enjoyed his ending and his overall arc though, which is why he still ranks so high. From his relationship with Jo, to rekindling his bond with his mother, passing by getting raped and butlering for the best recurrer ever, Josh has had quite the journey. So think of it like this: it's not actually anything in particular that holds him down, it's just that the other characters above him happen to be better. #03. Joseph DeWar You did it. You managed something that, for whatever fricking reason, seems almost impossible to accomplish these days: you made your lead character good. Joe was complex, interesting and actually funny. He struggled to find his footing in season 1, but so did most of the characters, and the series itself, but by season 2 everything was better, as I'd commented before: the characters' personalities were more defined, established, especially Joe's, which, unto itself, is an accomplishment. So often shows manage to be thrilling and enthralling in season 1 and then hit a sophomore slump in season 3, only to reinvent themselves come season 3. DB managed to get better each season, and Joe, as the character in charge of representing the show at its forefront, did too. His relationship with Jo was actually shippable and enjoyable, hs drinking problem was thankfully kept to a sideline and the motives for it were understandable, and his ever-growing family made for a nice array of supporting characters. #02. Joanna Winters Joanna's just a bae, and you should be proud of her. You managed to find a very nice balance for this polarizing character. She is sexy and feminine, but can throw down like a hoodrat. She is elegant and refined, but will you cuss you into oblivion. She is borderline psychotic, but has a moral compass. She is cold and calculated, but clearly romantic. Jo doesn't fit any one category wholly, and despite being at the core of one of the series' main and deadliest mysteries, and despite having a very shady, very disturbing past, you made her very likable and easy to root for. Her alcoholism made for one of the best running gags that never got old - unlike Silvia's, for example -, despite being featured in literally every episode, her friendship with Josh was very well handled, considering how long it took them to actually make up, and her romance with Joe was never eye-rolling or boring. You really hit all the right marks with Jo, and the sole reason why she isn't number one is because, well, for some reason, Jo almost always gets great characters, doesn't she? Might not make much sense, but the number one clarifies that further. #01. Renato Duarte And in keeping with the things you should be proud of, here's something else to add to that list, and the very reason Rena tops the list of best DB characters: you made the best Rena. Yeah yeah, I know. Subjective, right? Self-centered. Biased. A ranking that is sure to aggravate the real Josh. All points that would be valid if not for the fact that Rena is a phenomenal character. He was always clearly the funniest of the butlers, and only got funnier as the series progressed. He surrounded himself with interesting supporting characters (Eli doesn't count): I actually quite liked his relationship with Mary, everything he did with Liz was awesome, and his rivalry with Justine was hilarious. He had the BEST ending out of any character (surely the most fulfilling, overdue one), and he actually became more important to the central plot as the series progressed, which is of course helped by the fact that he was the last butler to be key in solving the seasonal mysteries. Overall, it's as simple as this, really: out of all the fanfictions we've all done so far, DB's Rena is inarguably the best Rena, which I don't think can necessarily be said for the other characters and their portrayers. And that's why he takes the crown. To cap it all off, I salute this show and its writers, one can tell a lot of thought was put into it, and the end product was fantastic. These characters were all pretty hard to rank because most of them are great. Renaboss & The Renababes (talk) 23:35, December 4, 2017 (UTC) Category:Blog posts